UPDATE - Ukraine’s parliament passes bill banning religious groups tied to Russia

ADDS REMARKS BY RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN MARIA ZAKHAROVA

​​​​​​​By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine’s parliament on Tuesday passed a bill banning religious organizations tied to Russia.

Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram that the bill was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in the second reading with 265 votes in favor, and will come into effect 30 days after it is signed into law.

But he also highlighted one section of the bill stipulating that “communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate" will have nine months to break their ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko also confirmed the bill’s passage, calling it a “historic decision.”

He added that the bill will introduce restrictions to religious organizations on relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, in addition to determining what exactly is meant by such connections.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate split from Moscow in May 2022 following Russian Patriarch Kirill's blessing for the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which began that March.

However, it is still labeled “pro-Russian” by Kyiv and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The first reading of the bill "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Activities of Religious Organizations" was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada last October.

Commenting on the bill’s passage, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it signaled the "destruction of true Orthodoxy at the root."

Speaking on Russian state-owned Zvezda TV, Zakharova accused Ukraine of trying to create a "false church" to replace the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.